1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of household appliance safety. Specifically, the present invention is an electric stove warning system which alerts a person exiting a building through a door that a stove is on.
2. Discussion of Background
One of the most common ways fires start in residential homes is when the occupant leaves the building and forgets to turn off the stove. When left unattended, the heat generated by the burners will melt the stove top and subsequently implode. In so doing, the areas surrounding the stove, such as wooden cabinets and kitchen utensils, catch fire and spread the conflagration. Because of my occupation as a firefighter, I know personally that the results of this carelessness are property damage, personal injury and often death.
The prior art contains several devices which speak to the issue of stove safety. However, these devices are either unconcerned with the problem of leaving a stove unattended or suffer from design deficiencies which render them inadequate and inefficient. What follows is a brief review of the art's current state.
Markham (U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,151) teaches a warning device installed at the customary "leaving" door that plays pre-recorded messages when one opens the door. One message may be to remind someone leaving the premises that a stove is on. The device may be powered by battery or house current. It is appreciated, however, that Markham's device is not electrically connected to the stove and does not actually detect that the stove is on. Markham's device provides only a means by which one may pre-record warning messages and have such messages played when a door is opened.
Ekblad (U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,913) teaches a safety shutoff for a stove. The device turns off the stove when a person is absent but it will turn the stove back on if the person returns. If the person leaves a second time, the device will permanently shut off the stove, until it is manually reset. Ekblad's device is located near the stove and is based on sensing the heat of a person.
Nashawaty (U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,455) discloses a stove safety device that senses the absence of a pot on a stove burner. An alarm issues when the device senses that a particular burner is on and that there is no pot on the burner.
However, prior to the instant invention, them existed no alarm system which adequately sensed, and subsequently alerted, a person leaving a building that a stove is on.